1. Technical Field to which the Invention Belongs
The present invention relates to a large current fuse for direct coupling to a power source which can be directly coupled to a battery.
2. Related Art
Generally, a battery is mounted inside a body of an automobile as a supply source of electric power, and a large current fuse is electrically connected to a battery post of the battery by way of power source side terminal. An example of general large current fuses is illustrated in FIG. 13.
As shown in FIG. 13, the large current fuse 80 includes a fuse body 83 which connects a first terminal 82 to a power source side terminal 81, and a resin case 84 which covers an outer face of the fuse body 83. The fuse body 83 includes a connecting hole (not shown) formed in one end thereof, a fusible member 85 arranged at an intermediate portion, and a stud bolt 86 which is provided so as to project from the other end thereof. A power source side stud bolt 81a provided in the power source side terminal 81 is inserted into the connecting hole, and a nut 87 is screwed onto the power source side stud bolt 81a. The fusible member 85 is adapted to fuse by self heating only when an excess current flows. The first terminal 82 is fixed to the stud bolt 86 by screwing a nut 88.
In order to minimize a distance (protruding allowance) d of the large current fuse 80 protruding from an outer face 89b of the battery 89 after the large current fuse 80 has been assembled to a battery post 89a, the large current fuse 80 is formed in an L-shape so as to extend along the battery 89. A second terminal 90 may be co-clamped to the power source side stud bolt 81a of the power source side terminal 81 together with the large current fuse 80.
However, when the large current fuse 80 has been. assembled to the battery post 89, the stud bolt 86 is directed laterally, therefore connecting workability of the first terminal 82 to the large current fuse 80 is deteriorated. Moreover, since the large current fuse 80 is formed in L shape, there is a drawback that the second terminal 90 which is co-clamped to the power source side terminal 81 together with the large current fuse 80 is restricted by a bent portion 80a of the large current fuse 80. Although this drawback may be overcome by making a linear part 91a of the large current fuse 91 longer as shown in FIG. 14, it has been disadvantageous that the protruding distance dxe2x80x2 of the large current fuse 91 becomes longer.
In view of the above described problems, it is an object of the invention to provide a large current fuse for direct coupling to a power source in which the connecting workability of the first terminal to the large current fuse will be improved and a degree of freedom of the terminal to be co-clamped with the power source side terminal will be enhanced.
In order to attain the above described object, the invention is embodied by a large current fuse adapted to connect a power source side terminal attached to a battery post of a battery to at least one terminal, said fuse comprising:
a fuse body including:
a power supply terminal plate in substantially rectangular shape, one end of said power supply terminal plate being connectable to said battery post; and
at least one connecting terminal plate located in a direction perpendicular to a first direction with respect to said power source side terminal plate, said first direction defined by said fuse body elongating from said battery post; and
at least one fusible member connecting said power supply terminal plate to said at least one connecting terminal plate, respectively;
wherein an imaginary line extends along the other end of said power supply terminal plate and is substantially perpendicular to said first direction, said at least one connecting terminal plate is positioned at same side as said power supply terminal plate with respect to said imaginary line, and a outer peripheral edge of said connecting terminal plate is substantially along said imaginary line.
The large current fuse for direct coupling to the power source is further characterized in that the connecting terminal plate is positioned on a same plane as the power supply terminal plate so that terminals can be co-clamped to the power source side terminal with the power supply terminal plate, and that the connecting terminal plate has a stud bolt which projects in a direction opposite to a direction of mounting the power source side terminal on the battery post so as to connect the other terminals thereto.
As described above, the large current fuse for direct coupling to the power source is composed of the fuse body and the resin case which partially covers the fuse body. The fuse body consists of the power supply terminal plate in a rectangular shape, and the connecting terminal plate which is integrally formed with at least one side of both sides of the power supply terminal plate in a longitudinal direction thereof by way of the fusible member. The power supply terminal plate and the connecting terminal plate are positioned at the same side with respect to an extension line extending along the other end of the power supply terminal plate, and a portion of an outer peripheral edge of the connecting terminal plate is substantially along the extension line. Therefore, when the large current fuse has been assembled to the battery post, the distance of the large current fuse protruding from the battery becomes shorter than in the conventional example.
As described above, the connecting terminal plate is positioned on the same plane as the power supply terminal plate and has the stud bolt which projects in a direction opposite to a direction of mounting the power source side terminal on the battery post. Therefore, the large current fuse is flat in shape (flat shaped) as compared with the conventional large current fuse. Moreover, even after the large current fuse has been assembled, the stud bolt of the connecting terminal plate projects upward from the above described same plane.